The 25 best electric guitars under £1000/$1500 in the world today

Updated for 2015: our favourite mid-price axes

Introduction

What is the best mid-price electric guitar? £1000 buys you a whole lotta axe. For a grand (or roughly $1500 US) you can buy a brand new instrument built for life on the road that will see you through hundreds of gigs and recording sessions.

Here we've gathered a carefully curated selection of 25 of the highest scoring guitars to hit the mid-price category in the last few years. It's not all 'the big two' either - while the Fender Cabronita Telecaster and Gibson 2015 Les Paul Studio both represent excellent value for money - there's a whole world of idiosyncratic designs now available outside of the high-end market.

Browse the gallery to view the full selection and read full reviews of every guitar.

And don't miss...

Hagstrom Pat Smear Signature Electric

£675 / $1,099

What you get is a mash-up body shape of Foos/Germs man Pat Smear's HIIN and the modern Hagstrom double-cut, the F200, with a pair of Hagstrom humbuckers (Custom 58s), tone and volume controls for each and three-way switching.

The body is mahogany with a maple cap, there's a military-grade fixed bridge with roller saddles and each string is anchored by a solid chunk of metal, meaning that we had tons of sustain and zero tuning problems during our test.

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"Overall, this is one hell of a rock guitar. It feels weighty, has almost over-engineered hardware, and sounds the business."

Washburn Parallaxe PXS20FRTBB

MSRP £829 / $1,694

As well as representing a new chapter in Washburn's illustrious history, this guitar also provides yet another choice in what is an already crowed part of the market.

This Parallaxe models would suit any hard rock player down to the ground, and we particularly liked the PXS20's gloss neck finish and Floyd Rose. We hope you'll join us in welcoming Washburn back to the metal fold... where it belongs!

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"A genuinely impressive modern guitar, Washburn goes back to its rock and metal roots with gusto."

Ibanez AT10P

MSRP £938 / $1,733

The Ibanez AT10P is an Indonesian-made incarnation of Andy Timmons' high-end signature AT1000CL and forms part of the Ibanez Premium Series, which centres on the firm's core rock market with a range of guitars built in East Java.

Because of the traditional-style, vintage-inspired vibrato, the AT10P is noticeably resonant and really could be the modern HSS Strat-alike you've always hankered after

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"The traditional looks may attract floating Ibanez voters. It sounds great and plays wonderfully well."

Schecter PT

MSRP £599 / $729

The PT is a bit special. It's a cool concept, fully realised. Taking a vintage-style body and hot-rodding it with some modern firepower is old news these days. But in the '70s and '80s, when Pete Townshend was busy commissioning his Schecter guitars, the concept was new and exciting. He may no longer endorse them, but we think it's still a thrilling package today.

In fact, if you're looking for a versatile twin-humbucker guitar, inspired by the preferences of one of the greatest rock guitarists and tone freaks of all time, there's really no substitute.

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"The PT is a modern classic with great playability and tone, and pickups that can kick your teeth in."

LTD EC-1000 EverTune

MSRP £999 / $1,427

The EC-1000ET is an all-mahogany single-cut loaded with an set of EMG 81 and 60 active humbuckers, a comfortably modern neck and a high level of construction quality.

Once your brain deals with what's happening, the EverTune seems a pretty solid concept, and there's no doubt it keeps your guitar perfectly in tune once settled in. We'd recommend that absolutely everybody gives it a try!

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"EverTune actually works, increasing the musicality of you and your guitar at a stroke."

Guild Newark St M-75 Aristocrat

MSRP £929 / $1,425

The M-75 Aristocrat, from Guild's vintage-appointed Newark St range, is so refined, you'll want to put on a suit before playing it.

The clean tones could convince you that your suit should be brightly coloured with a wide trouser; the Aristocrat specialises in the sort of clearly enunciated bright-pop and bell-chime tone that would be right at home on Soul Train: 100 per cent jazz, funk and soul. Turning up the gain finds a yowling, chewy rock voice hidden beneath the finery, too

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"A great tool for jazz, funk and soul players, the M-75 Aristocrat looks the part, sounds the part - and your back will thank you for it, too!"

PRS S2 Starla

MSRP £1,095 / $1,294

Game-changer is an already over-used phrase, but it seems the most appropriate term to describe this new S2 guitar. Does it feel like the top-flight core line guitars? Yes. Does sound like them? Pretty much. Does it cost a lot less and offer a less opulent, more 'blue collar' vibe? Definitely.

The Starla could really widen the appeal of PRS guitars to an audience who might have appreciated the good bits but just couldn't get on with the style or price. Only time will tell.

Fender Classic Player Baja '60s Telecaster

MSRP £826 / $799

Even if Fender has mucked up the recipes a bit for the Classic Player Bajo '60s Telecaster, it's still imbued with Fender DNA.

Designed by the Custom Shop's top guitar makers, but made in Mexico, there's an alder body hidden by an opaque polyester finish, and a gloss untinted maple neck with rosewood 'board. The Baja, in 60s style, has no skunk stripe, and there's a vintage-style truss rod adjustment at the body end.

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"Classic 60s-style Tele with extra sounds from the four-way selector and S-1 switch: what's not to like?"

Epiphone Slash Rosso Corsa Les Paul

MSRP £679 / $1,665

This is the Epiphone version of a limited-edition Gibson that's no longer available. Slash is often seen on stage with that guitar, and the Rosso Corsa finish, translating from Italian as 'racing red', is exclusive to the RC models.

Strapped on, it's all you can do to resist automatically adopting a rock pose. Pickups comprise a zebra set of Seymour Duncan Alnico Pro II Slash humbuckers that are controlled in the usual manner, and the profile of the neck is based on that of Slash's main Gibson LP, offering a playable mix of late 50s girth with early 60s width.

Schecter Blackjack ATX Solo-II

MSRP £739 / $1,149

With its blood-red finish, the Schecter Blackjack ATX Solo-II is a deadly single-cut has looks that kill - not to mention playability to die for.

Its Seymour Duncan Blackout humbuckers offer a similarly high output to the Hellraiser Hybrid's EMGs, but with a brighter, more transparent quality to the clean tones, while the extra high-end helps them to cut through layers of dirt for metal chug and screaming pinches.

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"An impressive spec, value for money and a solid build - it all adds up to a seriously playable rock and metal guitar."

Fender Road Worn '60s Stratocaster

MSRP £889 / $1,199

Fender's much-respected Mexican factory started turning its hand to relic'd finishes in late 2008 and the pre-aged Road Worn range is still delivering.

If the look and feel is old and worn, the sound is a little less specific, which might have vintage guitar forums buzzing but for the majority of players the pickup choice and the overall sounds are eminently useable.

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"This one has it all - feel and sound, a great neck and firm tonality. A Strat to love and cherish!"

PRS SE Bernie Marsden

MSRP £729 / $1,000

An endorsement from ex-Whitesnake tonemeister Bernie Marsden was a big coup for PRS in the earlier half of the decade - particularly considering his original 1958 Gibson Les Paul, aka The Beast, is almost as well known as he is.

If you don't like bird inlays or those fancy tops you might pass in favour of a classic Les Paul. Yet informed by the past it might be but the PRS SE Bernie Marsden is its own beast and it's the consistency of build and QC that still impresses after all these years. That, sadly, can't be said of every company in the world building single-cuts.

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"If you like your single-cuts rooted in the fifties, you'll like this. It may only be subtly different from the 245, but it's enough."

Guild Starfire IV

MSRP £665 / $1,099

Although the Newark St Collection is manufactured in Korea, some 7,000 miles away from the address that gave it its name, a real effort has been made to get these guitars right when it comes to balancing vintage accuracy, the demands of modern players and the need to work to a price.

The Starfire is built to travel further forward through time via Cream, Jimi and beyond into muscular hard rock territory. A very impressive range.

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"A grand to spend? Put this straight at the top of your double-cut semi shopping list."

Fender Classic Player '60s Stratocaster

MSRP £499 / $1,099

Fender's Stock and Custom Teambuilt guitars are pretty special in their own right, but to run your hands over a Masterbuilt guitar is an almost religious experience, and the idea behind the Classic Player Fender Stratocasters is to try and bring some of this magic to the hugely popular mid-price Classic Series.

The '60s Strat is loaded with a trio of Custom '69 single-coil pickups that are slightly hotter than average. Texas springs to mind when plugging in the '60s Strat, as you can revel in the higher output and associated increased aggression within the performance.

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"The '60s Classic Player Strat offers top-quality performance and it's pretty obvious that the magic touch of the Custom Shop masterbuilders has been efficiently transferred."

Jackson Chris Broderick Pro Series Soloist 6

MSRP £850 / $1,199

Megadeth's 2008 recruit and axeman extraordinaire Chris Broderick landed his own signature model back in 2012 - but with the Jackson Chris Broderick Soloist 6's current street prices of over £4k, it's a case of, 'Who's buying?' Praise the lords of shred, then, for the Pro Series Soloist 6.

Broderick's latest sig boasts all the key plugged-in specs of his high-end model, with the same DiMarzio pickups and switching options as its big bro, but a quarter of the price.

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"Whether you like Megadeth or not, this is one seriously impressive metal guitar."

Fret-King Black Label Elise 'JE'

MSRP £849 / $TBC

Essentially the same as the standard Fret-King Elise in terms of its Korean origin and solid-wood construction, this John Etheridge signature impresses, as it's lighter than the previous Elises we've tested.

With its downsized, offset ES-335-meets-mini-archtop vibe, this Fret-King is a superb guitar.

Gibson 2014 SG Special

Having not had extensive hands-on time with the new 2015 SG Special, we're sticking with the 2014 SG Special - still available at some retailers - for our mid-price SG recommendation.

Compared to the likes of the Futura series, the SG Special has perhaps the best combination of tradition and innovation, with tweaks in all the right places, and all the sounds you want from an SG - and more besides.

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"Offering superb value, classic rock tones and modern versatility, this SG is special indeed."

Jackson Pro Series DKA8 Dinky

MSRP £826 / $1,199

Shopping for an eight-string electric is a bit like buying a guard dog. You're looking for all the same qualities: plenty of bark, more than a little bite and, err, a firm bottom-end. The usual rule applies - always buy from a reputable breeder.

And you don't get much more reputable than Jackson, whose stock-in- trade is tailor-making electric guitars for musical roughhousing. And the firm has pulled out all the stops when spec'ing the DKA8.

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"A guitar designed with the post-progressive metaller in mind - it takes the hot-rodded S-type concept to new extremes."

Fender Cabronita Telecaster

MSRP £646 / $975

A Mexican-built replica of the La Cabronita Especial at a much more affordable price point, the Cabronita Tele covers all the same bases as the Custom Shop original: a body of alder or ash, a pair of Gretsch-style Fideli'Tron pickups (replacing the original's TV Jones 'buckers), a trimmed scratchplate and a single volume control.

Anyone who's picked up a Mexican-made Fender in the past couple of years knows that the quality of guitars being produced there is through the roof, and the Cabronita is no different.

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"Spirited, endlessly playable and extremely difficult to put down, the Cabronita is a Fender unlike any other, and thankfully, one most of us can afford."

Fender Classic Series '60s Stratocaster Lacquer

At 2013's Frankfurt Musikmesse, Fender announced that it was, for the first time ever, producing guitars with gloss nitrocellulose 'lacquer' finishes from its factory in Ensenada, Mexico.

Fender's regular Classic Series guitars hit a sweet spot of vintage aesthetics and affordable pricing that's bang-on for people who 'just want a nice Strat'. Only time will tell how they'll weather, but we'd venture that we're looking at the best made, best value, vintage-inspired Strat to come out of Fender since the 60s.

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"The perfect choice if you can't stretch to a Fender American Vintage-series instrument. More colours please!"